Best "bang for the buck" - lawn tractor...

[Mr_Teci]

Re: Best \"bang for the buck\" - lawn tractor...

An important thing to consider is weather or not you need a heavy duty or light duty machine. I have an old farm house and my yard is full of hidden obstacles including hills, large trees, stumps, hidden rocks and even a couple of foundations left over from out buildings. I had a Husqvarna. I figured that they make great chain saws, so they must have a good lawn tractor. After a couple of seasons, I stripped the plastic steering gear. I have since replaced it with a Simplicity and haven’t looked back. One of the things that sold me on the simplicity was the turning radius. Simplicity has (I think) the tightest turning radius in lawn tractors. The following page offers a good chart on who make light duty and who makes heavy duty machines, and their definition of each.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/2002_April_May/Choosing_a_Compact_Tractor

 

[HGM]

Re: Best \"bang for the buck\" - lawn tractor...

One nice thing about JD dealers. They usually have used exuipment there for you to inspect. Mine only had 6-10yr old stuff when I bought mine, so the conditions didnt surprise me. I just didnt know mine would look that way after 2yrs.

I totally agree that you need to shop arround and get what fits your needs. Some are better quality than others, I recomend to get something with servicible bearings and good parts availability in your area. You will need parts at some point, unless you do the new mower each year that I mentioned earlier. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Also, some are more comfortable than others.

As I mentioned I have less of a problem watching a $1000 mower deteriorating after a year or two than a $2500 mower. Seems like everyone that has a larger JD model than mine has been completely satisfied. So, in hind site, I would not look at the smaller version of anything. They are cheap entry models to get you in the Green. Good luck with your choice. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif